Forgotten Rose
by Jacklyn Frost
Summary: Marred by scars and the death of her only friend during the time she was held captive by Roman and Cinder, a Red Rose wilted. Will she ever learn to talk again, or will this Rose be forgotten? (There will be some [Cookies & Cream] and [Enabler] in this story) (Rated M for very dark themes and torture) [TEMPORARY HIATUS! Refer to profile for more information]
1. Prologue

**New story! Yay! I would like to shoutout my girlfriend Hollow14 for helping me come up with the name and summary for this story. She is really amazing, and her stories are great, so go check out her stuff!**

**This is the prologue, so the next chapter will have the actual meat in it…anyways, onto the story! :**

* * *

Ruby eyed the Beowolf with Crescent Rose, making sure it didn't smell where the rest of her friends were. It didn't.

Which meant she couldn't kill it. She sighed. Being the watchman (or watchwoman?) for her team was so tiring...

Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

Yang came and took her place; shaking her gently awake, and Ruby blushed sheepishly. "Sorry, Yang! I didn't mean to fall asleep…"

Yang smiled and rubbed Ruby's head. "It's okay sis; I'll take watch now. You go get some sleep."

Ruby collapsed onto her bed and was out in seconds…

* * *

But then barking brought her jerkily to the present.

Zwei barked again before rushing off.

"Zwei! Zwei!" Ruby whisper-yelled.

He didn't come back, and Ruby groaned before grabbing Crescent Rose and rushing after the corgi.

She looked around the first building, but didn't see him. She peered around another corner of a run-down building and saw him relieving himself onto a metal support frame.

She was almost mad at him, but he was so darn cute!

"Zwei really? This is a wasteland; you really could have done that anywhere!"

He barked and she reached to pick him up as she heard someone say, "What was that?"

She hurried over to the corner of another building and peered around the corner.

Two White Fang guards were standing not very far from her, and she prayed that Zwei wouldn't bark. Luckily he didn't.

The White Fang guards looked like they were leaving, and then they disappeared around the corner.

Ruby hurried after them, sneaking behind them with her amazing sneak skills Blake had taught her.

She took a gentle step out from behind cover only to nearly fall over as she lost her balance.

She waved her arms and jumped back behind cover.

She got the brilliant idea to have Zwei make sure they weren't looking, and he barked only once; giving the all clear signal.

Ruby was so excited. Her first real mission of stopping bad guys!

She quickly got out her scroll to tell the others where she was, but it was out of range.

"Come on! We gotta find the others!" She got up and ran towards where her team was sleeping, only to find the concrete ground crumbling underneath her.

She fell and barely grabbed onto the ledge with her fingers. Zwei nearly fell into the dark pit, but Ruby skillfully grabbed him and tossed him back to safety.

Ruby pulled herself up to climb out, but the piece of concrete she was holding gave way and she fell…

She fell a long ways…

And it would be a long time before her team saw her again…

But once they did….

She wasn't the same…

* * *

**A/N: So this piece of rainbows and sunshine happened. Lol this will be a very dark story.**

**Like, I think this is rated M for some seriously messed up stuff. (But no lemons; I don't like to write that stuff)**

**Stay tuned for more! Updated whenever I feel like it, so I'm sorry if you all are like, "oh, when is that story getting updated?" I have no clue.**

**Seeing as how this will be VERY dark, probably not often. So I apologize in advance for that.**

**But feel free to leave a review and PM me if you got anything you feel like saying! (Hopefully all good things, but I will appreciate any constrictive criticism!)**

_**Peace! Jackie out!**_


	2. Chapter 1

Ruby fell hard; landing on her back.

She tried to hold back a groan of pain and sat up, holding her aching head.

She then got a glimpse of the massive cave she had fallen into.

There was a whole city underneath the ground!

Just then, a door behind her opened and two guards rushed out, pointing their guns at her.

"Freeze!" They yelled.

Ruby instinctively backed up, but nearly fell off of the ledge and into the run-down city.

"You're a long way from home, little girl…" One of them said. They both kept approaching her, and Ruby instinctively went to grab her weapon.

But it was gone! She must have lost it when she fell into the pit…

A guard rushed her and grabbed her arm.

Ruby struggled. "Hey, hands off!"

She threw a punch at his gut, then one at his head that he blocked with ease.

He countered it with his own punch to the face.

Ruby fell to the ground, her already hurting head pounding like a jackhammer.

"The boss is gunna want to see this one…" One of the White Fang guards said.

She could barely make out feet coming towards her, and then one of the boots went up and came down hard on her face; the world going black.

* * *

During this time, Yang was just now figuring out that Ruby was missing…and it was going to be a long time before they saw each other again…

* * *

Ruby came to, her head _really_ starting to hurt now…

"Ugh…where..?" She looked around, but it didn't look like the cave she was in was the same one as before.

It was dark, and smelled almost of mold. She realized she was shackled to a wall, and she tugged on them but only got a weak rattling sound instead.

"You are awake…usually people don't recover from a head wound like that so quickly." A voice said.

Ruby looked out and tried to make out who was speaking, but it was too dark.

The voice laughed. "Oh, you won't be able to see me in this darkness…but I can see you."

Ruby was getting terrified by now.

She was taken captive by the bad guys and now she was sitting down, shackled to a wall with some creep watching her…

The voice laughed darkly now. "That's right…you are held captive; and you won't be getting out any time soon. So sit tight…" It laughed again, almost like it told a joke that was funny.

But Ruby wasn't laughing, and wouldn't for two years…

Wouldn't smile…

Wouldn't talk…

Wouldn't do anything but cry and wish that her big sister was there to save her...but pretty soon even her tears dried up...and so did her wishes...

* * *

**A/N: I am going to some sort of hell for doing this to Ruby, aren't I? At least you guys get a story out of it…**

**I know it's been a bit since I posted a chapter, and I also realize that this is REALLY short, but meh. ****Anyways, thanks a bunch to everyone who is following/reviewing and the like. Y'all are awesome! I realize that this story has a similar name to my other story, Forgotten Plans. They are in no way connected, so I hope you all aren't confused anymore.**

**Stay cool, but don't freeze! ;) **_**Peace! Jackie out!**_


	3. Chapter 2

The sound of the bullhead was loud enough to drown out the occupants voices.

Not like they were going to talk, though…

The pilot leaned to the back and yelled that they were getting close.

The black haired lady nodded and put a mask over her face; her cat ears visible.

She was going to try and infiltrate the base while the Heiress caused a distraction long enough for her to find where they were holding _her_.

The white haired lady checked her rapier for the millionth time since boarding the Bullhead. She was praying that what they came to get was going to bring some results; if not for her then for her blonde teammate.

The said blonde was sitting stock still, her jaw locked and her eyes fighting redness.

She had spent two _damn_ years looking for **her** and she would either bring her back or die trying…no, she would bring _her_ back. No matter what or who got in her way.

Yang stood up and extended Ember Celica. "You know the plan! We came here to get Ruby and we are damn well going to get her!" Yang had to yell, but she didn't care.

Ruby was waiting for her, and she was not going to leave her waiting anymore.

* * *

Ruby could hear the soft but terrifying click of her master's heels on the cold stone floor through the bars of her prison.

She should feel scared, but all she felt was this empty hole in her heart where fear used to reside. She was nothing more than a living dummy; someone whom Cinder could torture her to her evil wicked heart's content.

Sure enough the door creaked open and Ruby could make out the dim outline of Cinder staring at her with those burning eyes.

"Come, my pet. We have some fun planned for you today…"

It was always the same. Every day or nearly every other day (unless the last beatings were too much and in that case they left Ruby to heal a bit more) Cinder stopped by and took her to a 'special' room set up for torture.

The same person that had spoken to her first in this cell went in and unlocked the shackles on Ruby's wrists.

Ruby used to rub her wrists, or do something to get the feeling back into her arms, but she just let them fall limply to her sides.

"Now, now; don't be like that. It's so much better if you have some energy in you..." **So we can drain it out of your body as we beautify it…**

It was no secret that Cinder was heartless, but this man (who had never been called by name, or even really identified because of the dark hood he wore) was probably the sickest man alive.

He would make Ruby scream louder just for fun; and when Cinder would use her powers to burn the girl he would stop and smell the 'beautiful smell'. Cinder liked to hear Ruby scream as well, but as of late Ruby had stopped making sounds of any kind.

Cinder feared that maybe her Rose was starting to wilt…but she was too much in love with the darkness in her heart, and her sick lust for blood, that she continued despite it.

"Let's go." She led the way towards the room while the man dragged her along behind him.

* * *

Ruby was tied standing up to the wall in the 'special room' (torture room more like) and she could hear the sounds of clinking metal.

No matter how much she had gone through, the sound of that metal still sent shivers up Ruby's spine; and Cinder saw it.

"Getting excited, my little Rose?" She said in that ever sweet voice she had.

Ruby just grit her teeth and waited for what was coming. She wasn't stupid.

In fact, being in this hell hole had made her mature at a rapid and accelerated rate.

What with the creepy guy always mentioning very…pedophilic…things to her. Granted he never actually acted on what he said, but he liked to see her breath catch and get all nervous whenever he came near her. (Told you he was sick)

While Ruby's brain may have been maturing fast, her body was maturing slowly. With the lack of sun and the constant strain and beatings her body took; she was using her energy and Aura just to keep her alive; not grow as fast as she could.

Ruby Rose knew that she was wilting; it was only a matter of time until she died. Literally.

And then she felt the harsh Aura of Cinder slam into her body, and if she had wanted to talk she would have cursed.

Cinder always filled Ruby with excess amounts of Aura just so that she could go longer on Ruby.

Ruby bit her tongue so hard it bled, but she didn't feel the pain. She was trying her hardest not to hyperventilate, and she knew what was next.

Pain.

A lot of pain…just like always.

* * *

Yang, Blake, and Weiss ran through the woods and stopped at the entrance to what looked like a cave.

Yang put her earpiece in, and nodded to Weiss. "You ready, Weiss?"

Weiss nodded back. "I was ready five hours ago. You sure she is even-"

But at the sudden red tint to Yang's usually lilac eyes, Weiss shut up.

Yang had searched everywhere in Beacon, Vale, Vacuo, and Atlas for Ruby. She never stopped; not once.

She was tracking down any lead, even if it meant scaring the crap out of some poor kid that had happened to have a red cape. Yang was frankly obsessed with finding Ruby.

She rarely slept, and rarely ate. She was worried like heck about Ruby, and wouldn't rest until she found her.

A couple days ago someone sent Yang an anonymous message with just these coordinates.

And Yang had gone to get here immediately. She had asked the rest of RWBY to join her, and they accepted; even though both Blake and Weiss weren't even sure that Ruby was even here; that this wasn't some random goose chase.

"I am sure… I got a feeling about this one." Yang said. Not giving Weiss the chance to mention how that had happened in three previous places, but to just sigh and follow.

Without their leader, Weiss was made the stand-in leader. Or basically permanent leader, but Yang never gave up on Ruby. She always said Ruby would be found; and could go back to being leader.

Weiss and Blake both didn't have the heart to tell her that it had been _two years_ since Ruby was seen last. Ruby was probably….no. Weiss didn't want to think about that.

Ruby was going to be found…and she was going to be okay. Right?

* * *

But neither Weiss. Blake, nor Yang or anyone in the White Fang knew what Cinder was keeping in her lair. What she was doing to her 'pet'.

But then; how could anyone? Ruby was Cinder's 'special Rose', a secret that if the White Fang found out, there might be some people getting kicked out or killed.

* * *

Ruby normally would scream and thrash around from the treatment, but tonight she just hung limply and flinched slightly.

This angered the fire-lobbing monster (a monster in nearly every right) and Cinder growled. "Throw her to the Creeps!"

Cinder knew that this maybe wasn't the best idea; since if Ruby could manage to get out she would have a weapon to use against them; but she also knew that Ruby would be so focused on keeping herself alive to even think about escaping.

The dark clothed man chuckled and roughly grabbed Ruby from the shackles on the wall. "Come along, Rose…we got things planned for you tonight!"

Ruby just let him drag her bruised, scarred, and bloody body along with him; not even offering any resistance.

She had been thrown into this dark room with those Grimm every once in a while.

They had somehow managed to get Crescent Rose, and they gave her a few minutes to clean the blade and other maintenance before opening the locks to the tunnels the Grimm came from.

Now, you might be wondering what kept Ruby from just bringing that blade to her throat and ending it all. It would be easy; the blade was still wicked sharp.

It would also be easy to just let the Grimm kill her.

She had tried both already. The first time she was about to, a girl with an umbrella teleported in front of her and grabbed the blade before Ruby was able to slice deep enough. There was a small scar along her neck, among the various other scars.

And if Ruby tried to just lie there and let the Grimm kill her…well, Cinder didn't like that and had always killed them or drove them off only to punish the poor girl for trying to escape the pain.

But as the gates lowered Ruby was reminded of that mysterious girl with the umbrella. Her hair was colored different on each side, and her eyes sometimes changed color.

Ruby dodged a lunging attack from one of the Creeps, slicing it in half effortlessly.

But what Ruby was focusing on is when umbrella girl had saved Ruby that one time last year or so, she had looked at Ruby with…something in her eyes.

And it wasn't what Ruby had seen in Cinder's eyes. Cinder was cold and heartless, almost manic in her tortures and stuff.

But the umbrella girl was…nice. When she had stopped the blade with her umbrella, she had looked Ruby in the eyes and shook her head softly.

She never spoke, always silent. But that one shake of the head told Ruby all she needed to know.

Someone cared about her. And yes, while it had been her only escape from this hell, she welcomed the feeling.

It was the only thing keeping her alive right now. And when she focused on how much that someone in here cared for her, it gave her renewed hope and certainty that Yang would be searching the seven circles of Hades for Ruby and wouldn't let death stop her.

Ruby swung her scythe in an arc and sliced off the heads of two more Creeps.

But she could only now think about Yang…and that one promise she made to her when Summer died…

* * *

"_Yangy?" Young Ruby asked as she climbed onto the blonde's lap._

_Yang chuckled and rubbed the top of Ruby's head. "Yeah Rubbles?"_

_Ruby looked up at Yang and spoke softly, saying, "Yangy…if mommy is gone…can you take care of me?"_

_Her wide silver eyes shone with tears, and Yang felt something come alive in her heart at that very moment. She pulled the red-haired girl into her arms and hugged her softly but tightly. "Rubbles, Yangy will always take care of you."_

_Ruby smiled into Yang's shoulder. "No matter what?"_

_Yang smiled back. "No matter what, little Rubbles. Now let's go get some food. I hear dad made some cookies…"_

_At the mention of the word cookies, Ruby was up and into the kitchen in .5 seconds. Faint 'yay!'s were heard, and Yang smiled to herself._

"_Ruby I promise…nothing will harm you if I have a say in it…"_

* * *

Ruby suddenly felt a tightness in her chest…

Yang didn't have a say in it…but would still be looking for her no matter what.

Yang didn't know that Ruby had heard her, but her small ears had heard and made her heart smile.

And now, her broken and scarred heart made a sorry attempt at smiling in this hell-hole.

Suddenly a sharp pain was stabbing Ruby's right leg, and she was jerked back to the present: and right into a cave full of Creeps…and one of them had her right leg in its teeth.

_Stupid; I need to stay focused!_

Ruby grunted and stabbed the long end of Crescent Rose into the beast, making it lose its grip on her.

Ruby flipped around, but sharp pain assaulted her back, and another pair of pointed teeth caught her left arm as she tried to flip the Creep on her back onto the ground.

Her foot caught on a stone that was on the ground, and fell under a wave of Creeps, all biting and clawing with claws on their deformed legs and gruesome fangs…

Until suddenly…there were no Creeps…and only darkness again.

Ruby groaned softly and tried to push herself up off the ground, but her left arm and back screamed with the effort.

She collapsed back onto the stone floor, just lying there and wishing that she hadn't lost focus and let them get her.

Creeps were easily manageable if you stayed out of their jaws and away from their claws, but once they got you…well; their teeth were sharp enough to cut through solid stone.

A mistake that was costing Ruby quite a lot at the moment…

But then soft hands touched her shoulder, and she jerked and curled into a fetal position; hoping Cinder wouldn't hurt her anymore right now.

* * *

She waited a tense few moments where nothing happened and the hand gently came back, this time with a voice. "Not…Cinder…"

Ruby, still having a curious streak in her tortured self, unfurled her body and tilted her head up a bit, just enough to see if it was a trick or something.

But she saw the girl with the umbrella there, and she had kind eyes…which shocked Ruby into not replying.

Which made the girl think she was still afraid of her, so she put down her umbrella and retracted her hand. "You…need help…" She pointed at Ruby's back and winced slightly.

Ruby just laughed softly, and the odd sound coming from her bruised vocal cords was surprising; both to her and to the brown and pink haired girl.

"Can…I…help?" The strange girl asked.

Ruby just stared uncomprehendingly at her. Someone…helping? Not hurting?

But then she remembered all those times during her 'punishment', how many times this stranger had reminded Cinder of something she needed to attend to; or that Ruby was unable to take much more. Anything to make Ruby less tortured.

Ruby suddenly remembered, and she felt soft tears make her way down her face. She just nodded slightly. "Y-yess…" Her voice wasn't working right, and didn't sound like the squeaky voice she used to call her own.

The girl smiled and produced something that looked like a medic kit to her. "Helping…now?" It was more a question if she had the go ahead to try and heal Ruby's wounds a bit.

Creeps had the nasty habit of eating rocks that had dust in them, making any bite they made unpredictable. One person had gotten bit and accidentally got too close to a fire source…yeah, that Creep had eaten some red dust. Not pretty.

Ruby nodded again, her face making a…was that a smile on her face? How very…weird feeling…but it was a good weird.

Ruby then felt a very soft and gentle feeling flood her body, and she felt warm and safe for some reason…then she realized that this girl was sharing her Aura with her; helping her heal faster.

When Cinder 'shared' her Aura, it was harsh and sudden; taking over every part of her body and forcing her normal Aura to retreat deep inside to escape getting overrun.

"Neo…my name is Neo." Said that very small and soft voice.

Ruby felt her smile widen, and it felt _good_.

"Ruby…Ruby Rose…"

And in that instant, Ruby felt herself get a bit of hope. The world was still cruel and evil, but the good people you found in it made it all worth it.

Now if only those good people could ever stay…

* * *

**A/N: Haha; been forever since I posted an update! I'm so soooo sorry people! Like, so sorry you have no idea. I am the worst author, omg. Anyways, here is the next chapter of this story!**

**As you can see; some things are happening; but what do you think will happen to Cinder? Or…is Ruby even in the cave Yang is going into? ANOTHER wild goose chase? Or will this time sisters be reunited?**

**Huehuehue find out when I get around to writing the next chapter! ;) (Yeah I'm gunna apologize in advance)**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: I dedicate this chapter to Genechan2009, who helped me get back out of my writers block. He is preeeety cool, just throwing this out there. :) You rock, dude! Thanks!**

* * *

Ruby must have fell asleep sometime when Neo was healing her, and when she woke up (from strangely nice sleep, not plagued by nightmares, which was what confused her at first) she was feeling much better than she had in_ years_.

Well, two years to put it plainly.

Ruby found she was lying on her side, her overshirt was gone; leaving her in a ripped t-shirt, and when she opened her eyes, she found Neo sitting cross-legged and facing her…just…staring.

Neo was just looking at her with gentleness and…something else.

Ruby jerked upright-or tried to. She winced and felt the searing pain still on her back.

Neo was broken from whatever trance she was in, and she reached towards Ruby.

Ruby, having learned for two long years that whenever someone was reaching towards you it meant pain, scooted backwards until her back was pressed (lightly, it still hurt) against the far wall.

Neo sighed, and held out her hands. "No…hurt…remember?"

Ruby just took a shuddering breath and stared at her with those wide silver eyes.

Neo slowly moved closer, and reached down and gently took Ruby's hand in her own. She immediately synced their Aura's and started to heal Ruby's re-opened wounds.

Ruby then seemed to realize that it was no, not a dream she had where Neo healed her, and yes, Neo was holding her hand.

Ruby looked down at their hands and then back up at Neo.

It was one of her biggest secrets kept from what close friends she had, that holding hands with a girl was the only hand she wanted to hold.

Yes, Ruby Rose was as gay as the rainbow.

And in this moment, surrounded by her blood on the cold stone, the harsh shackles that had held her captive for literally days on end without getting to go outside the cell, and the dark light that only barely could illuminate the two occupant's faces…

Ruby suddenly understood.

She understood what Neo distracting Cinder so Ruby would get less torture, she understood what that look in her eyes were every time she looked at her.

When she stopped Ruby from taking her life, when she saved her from the Creeps…

She understood what Neo meant when she was holding her hand, what she meant when she looked at her with those bright brown and pink eyes.

_I love you._

Neo smiled and held onto Ruby's hand a little tighter, like she knew what Ruby had suddenly figured out.

Ruby then thought that her cell looked a little brighter; the blood smears a little smaller, the shackles a little less frightening.

And her heart…her heart was most definitely a little healed.

Ruby looked back down to their clasped hands and smiled. Her bruised face hurt, but man was it worth it.

Neo spotted her smile and giggled lightly. Ruby jerked her head up, her ears hearing the angelic sound.

Ruby moved forward and hugged Neo as tight as she could. "Th-thak you…" Her voice was halted and weird for her to use it, and just when did she forget how to say certain sounds?

Neo gently hugged Ruby back, and the two of them were grinning despite everything that had happened in that grisly cell.

"It's…nothing…" Neo said. Obviously the two of them never talked much, but at least they could talk at all. (Cinder having threatened to cut out both of their tongues)

Ruby sat back and shook her head. "No…iit is…you…saved me…you…are…..e...everything…" That last word was hard to say, but somehow Ruby forced the words out.

Neo placed a hand on Ruby's cheek, and Ruby grinned and turned her head to kiss it. "I…love…you…too…" Ruby said.

And suddenly no more words were needed.

Neo was on the brink of tears, because let's not forget that she was treated like crap as well, and for anyone to appreciate her was something insane to even think about.

Ruby smiled at Neo, and brushed her tear away before moving her head closer to Neo's…

Neo closed her eyes as their lips met, a fire of passion igniting between them.

As Neo kissed Ruby back, she thought of all those times that she was called worthless; a short runt good for teleporting people away from trouble. But all of that was dispersed when she met Ruby.

The girl in the cell who had done nothing wrong. Who just sat there and silently took whatever beating came her way.

Ruby kissed Neo a bit harder, bringing a hand up to gently grip Neo's shirt.

Ruby had never kissed anyone before, so this was a whole new experience for her…but she liked it a lot. In the cell where she would go days without getting fed, where she would lie there and try not to aggravate her wounds further, and her blood stained on the wall where she would sit against it.

But now; here she was, lost in Neo, kissing her more deeply, all of everything gone.

It was just Neo and Ruby, and the sparks of love.

Neo pulled back to get a breath of air, and blushed. Ruby smiled and kissed her again. This time, both of them were slightly braver, and Ruby could feel the gentle bite of Neo's teeth on her bottom lip and Ruby blushed deeper than her red cloak used to be.

Neo smiled into the kiss, and Ruby grinned right back.

Just as there might have been some French kissing going on, they were interrupted by a very angry voice.

"What is going on in here?!" A very very angry person yelled.

Ruby and Neo froze in place, which was still compromising.

Rajani and Cinder had found the cave full of Creeps strangely empty of any Rose…so after locking the place down they searched for Ruby…only to find her in her cell…kissing Neo…

"Neo! Get out of there right now!"

Neo and Ruby jerked apart and Ruby had a really _really_ bad feeling…

Neo gestured to Ruby and shrugged, then pointed to the bandages on the floor that she must have used to heal her.

Rajani glowered. "You mean to tell me you got her from the Creeps and healed her wounds…and then started kissing her? Cinder will NOT be happy to learn you've been 'playing' with her Rose…"

"I won't be happy why?" Cinder said. You could hear the sharp, angry clicks of her heels on the stone floor.

Neo looked between Cinder and Ruby, and then at the door to the cell, and then above her. She finally looked back at Ruby and smiled so wide, but her eyes seemed to be a bit saddened.

She disappeared, and Cinder growled. "That _bitch_! She is going to pay for messing with MY Rose!"

Ruby stood up and put her overshirt back on, suddenly feeling very meek and scared.

Cinder was really very scary when she was mad, and Neo seemed to have gone and made her angry.

Ruby would never hold it against her, though. Not Neo. Not the only person to show her any form of love in two years.

Just then, the short girl appeared back in the cell and actually laughed.

She laughed and laughed, like she had done something that she had always wanted to do…

And she had.

She had found the secret switch that opened a secret passageway that led right into Cinder's 'top secret base'…and she had already made sure that a certain blonde was going to be coming soon.

So she laughed again and hugged Ruby. "I…love you!"

Ruby could see Cinder having Rajani open the cell door as fast as he could, so she was less enthusiastic, but she was smiling still. Neo had a really cute laugh…

That she would never hear again.

Cinder stalked inside and gripped Neo by the hair. "You…will do as you are told…and right now, you are told to get the fuck out of this cell. NOW!"

Neo let go of Ruby, but only to lean forward and kiss the bruised girl again. Ruby kissed her right back, and Cinder literally threw Neo across the cell.

"I SAID NOW!" Cinder waved her hands and fireballs appeared, and Ruby widened her eyes. She had seen Cinder get mad and kill people before…

But this time, this time it was different.

This time, the person that she was concerned about was Neo…whom she had secretly loved for a long time now…

"Ggghhaa!" Ruby yelled, and she dove at Cinder and tackled the ebony haired woman to the ground.

Cinder flipped her body around and rolled to her feet, while Ruby was struggling to her feet.

Cinder used this time to summon an _extra_ large fireball and hurl it at Ruby.

The sheer force of it slammed Ruby into the stone wall, and after a rather loud crack was heard, Ruby hit the ground, non-moving.

Neo fixed Cinder with her multicolored eyes and she glared. "You…regret that…you…going to die today. You are going to die by righteous fire from the sun."

Neo had never spoken in front of Cinder before, and quite frankly Cinder had thought she _couldn't_ speak.

So during the moment where Cinder was staring at Neo like she had two heads, Neo had teleported behind her and slammed her umbrella into the back of Cinder's head.

Cinder rolled forward and with some actually pretty elegant moves for someone just getting hit by a surprisingly hard umbrella, and faced Neo. "You got some bravery for facing me…but as you can see; we both know how this ends."

Neo nodded curtly and teleported next to Cinder. "That I do." She jammed the tip of the umbrella into Cinder's side.

Cinder whipped a leg to the side, knocking Neo off her feet. "Then you know YOU are dying today…" Cinder raised a leg up to stomp her heel into Neo's stomach, but Neo had vanished and appeared at the other side of the room.

Now that would have worked well…if it wasn't right in front of the cell door…which had a certain Rajani in it…

Cinder whipped her head around, looking for Neo, and smirked. "Oh Neo…you are so stupid sometimes…"

Rajani grabbed the umbrella, and Neo pulled on the handle, detaching what looked like a long silver blade.

As soon as she pulled it out, she stabbed Rajani right in his left eye. He screamed and was very quick to collapse in pain.

Neo just smirked herself. "Not that stupid…"

And turned to face a very angry Cinder.

Cinder didn't truly care for Rajani much, and could care less about his stupid eye, but that smirk Neo gave her **pissed her off**. **And she needed to get rid of it. Now.**

Cinder then proceeded to launch volley after volley of fire at Neo and no matter how skilled you are, fire tends to spread fast.

Finally, Neo teleported to get out of the way of the fire…but was directly in the path of another.

It hit her square in the chest, and she was thrown back several feet, her clothes singed and covered with soot from the fire. The impact of the blast had broken most of her ribs, her collar bone, and her wrist.

She couldn't even try and grab her weapon back from Cinder.

Cinder picked up Neo's long silver blade and grinned wickedly. "Look whose dying today, _bitch_."

With those words laced with near-insanity and cruelty, Cinder drove the blade straight through Neo's heart…

Neo gasped and coughed up a bit of blood, but she smiled slightly and turned her head to look at Ruby with life flickering out of her multi-colored eyes…

* * *

Ruby had regained consciousness sometime during the fight, but since her head was still throbbing and bleeding (she obviously had a severe concussion) her vision was mostly impaired and she could just make out the body of Neo going limp and Cinder pulling something out of…her…

Ruby's eyes widened and those forbidden tears appeared at her eyes. (Had she been thinking about it, she would have thought that odd; she thought she had run out of tears.)

"N…no…" She whispered out hoarsely.

Cinder turned around and such a wicked smile appeared on her face that Ruby was glad she couldn't quite see it fully.

"You…talked…Oh my; this is good news! I thought you had forgotten how to use that beautiful voice of yours…"

Ruby glared and stood up shakily. "No…Neo…NO! GGGGAAAHHH!" She screamed in anger and fury and pain and hurt, and charged Cinder head-on.

Cinder, drunk on the information that Ruby could talk, didn't see Ruby attack her.

Ruby used her semblance, and rushed across the room and slammed Cinder into the bars. "AAAHHHHGGGGH!" Ruby yelled again.

She grabbed the blade from Cinder as it was knocked out of her hand and raised it to stab Cinder in the abdomen; but Cinder rolled out of the way and sent a blast of fire at Ruby; who just dodged it with this small twist of her body and a flurry of rose petals.

Cinder felt a hand shove her head into the wall behind her; and the loud crack echoed off the walls.

"Ung…" Cinder held her head and looked around for Ruby; but didn't see her 'Rose' appear behind her and kick the back of her knee; causing the black-haired woman to stumble a bit.

"YOU LITTLE!" Cinder yelled and jerked her head back; effectively head-butting Ruby.

Ruby, her head already fragile from her hard collide with the wall and the spinning around to avoid Cinder, felt her consciousness start to waver again.

But that's when she heard something.

Something she had thought she would never hear ever again.

A voice.

A loud, boisterous voice that echoed off the walls of the prison cell blocks, and reached Ruby's heart.

**Yang.**

* * *

_15 Minutes Earlier…._

"So…this cave is empty. Looks like we came here for nothing. _Again_." Weiss huffed.

She was starting to get tired of Yang dragging them along to god-knows-where just to find a dead end or another 'clue' or something.

Yang glared. "I got this message that I was supposed to come here and wait for a secret passageway to open; so you two can go; but I will stay for as long as I can."

Blake sighed. "If there really is a secret passageway; there might be breaks in the rocks. I'll look around." With her faunus eyesight, she was perfect for the job.

After scouring over the rocks for about five minutes, Blake called out. "Hey; I think I see something."

Yang was by her in a split-second. "What do you see?"

Blake could make out a small difference in the rock; a small 'crack' in the stone that ran up and made a perfect shape of a small door.

"I think it's the door." Just then, the rock wall moved to the side and pure darkness was beyond.

Blake squinted. "I think there are stairs leading…" Yang pushed past her and started running down the stairs, the sound of Ember Celica extending filling the stairwell. "Down…"

Weiss and Blake followed quickly after Yang; the slight burning of her hair was a good beacon.

Suddenly, they burst into a room, and as they did; red lights began to shine around them; making a siren sound.

"_Prisoner Red not in cell; I repeat, Prisoner Red is not in cell; will all guards please assist Fall in searching for her whereabouts. This is not a drill; help her find Red or we won't have tomorrow to look forward to."_

Suddenly; the lights flicked on in the room and two guards rushed out; putting on their hoods and scrambling around for their weapons.

They stopped, and stared at the three new occupants in the room. "Oh thank god…" One of them said. He held up his hands and pointed at the door they had just come through. "Down that hall and to the left, the door is open right now; the big metal one with dust runes on it."

The other guard was nodding urgently and they both ran past the trio and up the stairwell the girls had just come down.

"Well…that was a thing…" Yang commented.

Blake was looking around in puzzlement. "This room appears to be normally sealed to the outside…no going in or out…"

Weiss was looking down the hall. "What do you think they want us to go see? It could be a trap…"

Yang cocked Ember Celica and stalked down the hallways. "Yeah…traps are no fun without anyone in it though…" Blake and Weiss sighed and followed Yang further into the cave system.

Just then the hallway gave way to a big metal door that did have dust runes on it…

Blake made a small exclamation of surprise. "Whoever made this place did not want anyone to get out; look at those runes!"

Weiss nodded. "Yeah; some complicated glyphs to use…plus the door is huge!"

Yang stepped towards the door and pushed it further open. She could see another hallway, but this one slowly sloped downwards, getting lower and lower as it went.

Blake squinted. "I think I see a door at the end…"

The trio (who admittedly were starting to get a little cautious and jumpy, this cave reeked of dark things…and it perturbed them.) made their way to the door at the far end, hearing shouts behind the door.

They reached it and Yang tried the door. "Damn…locked." Just then, they heard a very odd sounding shout, and then the sounds of battle.

Whatever was going on, behind this door were answers to Yang's search for Ruby…

Yang shouldered the door, but it only dented, the strong metal just bending slightly. "Weiss; know any good glyphs to get this door out of the way?"

Weiss shrugged. "I don't know, it might go flying down the hall or something…but I can try."

She summoned a bright blue glyph on the door, but the door held. "Who the heck made the doors in this place, like what the fuck?" Yang said.

Blake hummed. "Why don't you freeze the door, Weiss, and Yang, you punch through the weakened door?"

Yang and Weiss both nodded. "Ahh…that makes sense, Blakey."

They did as Blake suggested, frosty white crystals growing over the door, freezing it solid.

But Yang's punches did virtually nothing.

Well, at first.

Just then, the three of them heard a blood-curdling scream and a dull thud. Followed by another scream, obviously by the same person.

They froze, the sound of the scream making their hearts clench.

"Who was that?" Blake whispered.

Yang suddenly made a connection. Prisoner Red…red…like Ruby! And the scream…much like how Ruby had screamed when Summer had died…

Her eyes turned red within seconds of hearing the screams. **"RRRRUUUUBBBYYYY!" **Yang shouted, the yell ringing around the cavern.

With one punch the door was shattered, Yang bursting through the door, rushing into a dark cavern and to what looked like cell doors.

From the dim light, she could make out someone standing over someone else; obviously the two who had been fighting.

The standing person whipped her head around, her crazy eyes alight with the fires of…something Yang never wanted to identify.

Yang's gaze lowered to the floor where a figure rested, blood pooling onto the ground underneath their head.

"What are you doing here? Where is Rajani?!"

Blake looked over to a corner, where a man was holding his eye and sobbing. "Um…I think he hurt his eye…"

Cinder snarled. "All thanks to that little demon girl, Neo…I should have killed her sooner…"

_That_ got Team WBY's attention, and they all brandished their weapons.

Just then, Blake glanced down at the figure on the ground, and gasped. "R…ruby…"

Yang's gaze snapped over to Blake and she followed her gaze, her eyes turning blood red upon seeing her little sis…lying in a pool of her own blood.

Yang's gaze slowly met Cinder's, eyes aflame with passion and anger, and Cinder truly knew fear for the first time in her life.

She slowly backed up, but accidentally tripped over Ruby's body, still unconscious (but for all appearances looked dead) and fell hard on her tailbone.

Yang burst forward with speed to put Oobleck to shame, a blur of yellow and red, and then she gripped Cinder by the throat and clenched. **Hard.**

"You did this…YOU…YOU…" Yang didn't finish, but she drew her other fist back and came forward, the metal casing of Ember Celica landing squarely on Cinders face; breaking her nose and cheek bone in one blow.

Cinder (who still had some impressive fighting skills in her) put her foot against Yang's stomach and pushed off, doing a back flip out of Yang's deadly grasp.

"Bring it on, Yellow."

Yang motioned to Ruby, and Weiss gingerly and very reverently picked her body up, being careful not to harm her any further than she already had been, and hurried out of the cell block area; out of harm's way.

Blake drew Gambol Shroud and stood next to Yang. "Not just Yellow, Cinder."

Yang, whose eyes were still red, shook her head. "No…you go make sure Ruby gets on the bullhead, and gets medical attention right away. She might still make it… Just go help Weiss…"

Yang turned to Cinder and a manically wide smile, most definitely not filled with happiness, grew on her face. "I'll take care of this _bitch_."

With that, Blake rushed after Weiss, and Yang rushed at Cinder.

Let this just be said that two people, both who have fire integrated into their semblances and fighting styles…

Everything was on fire.

Yang's clothes, (had they not been made fire-resistant) would have been burned off long ago.

Cinder was also covered in flame, and Yang was punching at her desperate parries, each trying to out-flame the other and break through the flame shield.

Yang punched again, and Cinder ducked and kicked Yang in the stomach, who stumbled back a few feet from the force of the blow.

Yang held her stomach with one hand, and felt the energy absorb into her.

She looked up and punched her fists together, the flame burning with such intensity that Cinder turned her head to the side.

And with no inhibition, going full out, Yang came at Cinder.

There was no surviving this, Cinder knew.

Yang was attacking and with every attack thrown towards her she just kept coming, stronger and faster than before; hitting harder and blocking better.

Finally, Yang burst through Cinders remaining Aura, and Cinder slammed against the far wall, her entire body covered with bruises and small cuts from rolling around on the hard stone floor.

Cinder slowly slid to the floor, her legs too weak to even support her.

Yang stalked over and grabbed her by the neck again. "Stand. Up."

Yang pulled Cinder to a standing position, and she shoved her face into Cinder's. "I'll give you one shot, one hit one punch. Anything. Come at me, Cinder."

Yang stood back; her arms spread wide, and Cinder just leaned weakly against the wall, her eyes showing Yang that she really had nothing left.

"COME ON!" Yang shouted, and Cinder tried to form a fireball, but all that came to her palm was a weak flame.

Yang scoffed. "Pathetic."

And then Yang kicked Cinder in the side with a roundhouse, throwing the auburn haired girl to the ground.

Yang straddled her, throwing punch after punch to her face.

Cinder didn't even try and block them; the pain too much and her arms too weak.

Finally, Yang punched her once more, and Cinder passed out.

No, Yang did not kill her.

As much as Yang wanted to, she knew that Cinder didn't kill Ruby and that whatever Ruby had been through was worse than death.

So, Yang just picked Cinder up and carried her over her shoulder, walking out the door and ignoring the weird dude that was rocking back and forth.

"Man, Cinder, do I have plans for you…" Yang said.

* * *

Blake and Weiss reached the bullhead, and laid Ruby down on the stretcher in it.

Weiss just stared at Ruby, in complete disbelief. "We found her…she's right here…she's alive…"

Blake grunted. "Might as well be; do you see all the marks she has? If she doesn't die soon from the wounds, I will be impressed."

Weiss sighed and cast small dust particles over Ruby, coating her body with a cool layer; keeping any swelling on her head down.

Just then, Yang burst into the bullhead and not-gently-at-freaking-all tossed a body down on the floor. "Tie her up."

Blake jumped up, putting Cinder onto a stretcher and tying her down.

Yang stepped over to the cockpit and motioned for them to get out of there. "Get a move on, we have to get to Beacon hospital immediately."

The pilots nodded and the bullhead lifted off.

Yang glanced back at Ruby, and she suddenly felt nauseous… Ruby was covered head to toe in dirt and blood, small gashes covered nearly ever inch of her…

But was worse was the face she had…it was not the innocent face Yang remembered…it was not her little Ruby…

It was the face of one who had been living in a nightmare…

"Oh, Ruby…" Yang breathed…

She sat down on the benches and cried.

Blake and Weiss just silently sat there; having tended to Ruby as good as they could.

It was a solemn trip back to Beacon.

* * *

**A/N: Well…haha this chapter has been written over a period of this whole month basically…Just, I lacked inspiration and the drive to write, and so yeah. My idea tank was bone dry. (Writers block, folks! Sucks absolute crap!) I am so sorry for not updating as often as I would like, I shall hopefully try and not procrastinate on writing and such.**

**Also, you guys are amazing and thanks for sticking with me even though my updates are… *rubs neck awkwardly* haha few and far in between.**

**HUGEMONGO thanks to everyone who has been favoriting and following this story; you all are amazing and it's what kept me writing. I apologize for not updating; you all are wonderful and so I am sorry.**

**Peace! Jackie out!**


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